WNBA Finals Are Family Affair For Sandy Brondello, New York Liberty

The New York Liberty have gotten by with a little help from their friends and family en route to the WNBA Finals.

BROOKLYN-There are marital disputes and then there are the 2021 WNBA Finals.

Playing for a ring could be defined in more ways than one during the best-of-five set between the Chicago Sky and the Phoenix Mercury: not only was Chicago partly led by the married "VanderQuigs" duo (Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley) but wedding vows had also been exchanged across sidelines in the form of Mercury head coach Sandy Brondello and Sky assistant Olaf Lange. 

The latter's Sky prevailed in a four-game triumph, giving Lange bragging rights in a marriage drawn up as the sweetest play: the two, after all, met in Lange's native Germany where she was a player and he a developing coach. 

Fortunately, Brondello said, Lange acted like he had been there before despite having waited nearly 15 years for his first WNBA ring to wear next to his wedding band.

"Two years ago, we competed against each other and he was the victor, so it was very devastating for me," Brondello said with a smile. "But he was very humble in winning that."

Another ring is on the line for Brondello and Lange but this time they'll do it together: their second year of collaboration with the New York Liberty will end with one of the most anticipated WNBA Finals matchups in recent memory, if not all-time, as the bearers of seafoam will do battle with the equally-armed Las Vegas Aces. Game 1 will tip off on Sunday afternoon in Sin City (3 p.m. ET, ESPN). 

The best-of-five series will be a culmination of emotion for all sides: for the Liberty, it's the first endgame of a new-decade journey that grew from a two-win season in the W's Bradenton bubble in 2020. That Floridian excursion saw Brondello and Lange live separately in the name of COVID-19 prevention on separate squads. Now, the two are on their way to a potentially collaborative championship and to bring New York an elusive professional basketball title.

Sandy Brondello (L) and Olaf Lange have collaboratively led the New York Liberty to the brink of an elusive championship / Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

"It's great (that) we're in this journey together," Brondello told reporters before the team jets off to Las Vegas. "He's been coaching, been a head coach for a much longer time, I played for a long time. He coached me and I've learned so much from him. So it's great that we're on this journey together with our children."

Familial connections go beyond the sidelines, as the Liberty's playoff trip, a six-game journey to date, has been confined to the East Coast. Shortly after the Liberty wrapped up a four-game semifinal victory over the Connecticut Sun at Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday, Jonquel Jones was greeted by her fiancée Nesha and she's not the only "JJ" traveling with the Liberty: throughout a resurgent season, Betnijah Laney has been frequently flanked by her young niece, also named JJ, who found celebratory usage for the glowsticks that the Sun bestowed to fans before Game 3 last Friday night.

Even modern stars of the WNBA game have gotten in on the fun: with Vandersloot having followed Lange to New York, Quigley has lingered, as the former three-point queen walking the couple's dog has been a common pregame sight at Barclays Center. Epiphanny Prince is no longer on the team's active roster but the former New York star, who worked with the modern group on a series of hardship contracts, has been seated next to Liberty brass throughout the trip.

"It's always nice to have family and friends in the stands," Vandersloot said after the aforementioned Game 3 win in Connecticut. "You're going to have unconditional love whether you win or lose. It's, important, especially in this profession, where it can get lonely when we're on the road a lot. It's nice to be close to home where we can have our family there in the stands and know that we have some support."

The most prominent example of family ties perhaps came when Breanna Stewart was bestowed her second Most Valuable Player award shortly before Game 2 of the Connecticut series in Brooklyn. In her acceptance speech, Stewart said that her personal yield, her second WNBA MVP award, was done in the name of serving as a role model to her daughter Ruby.

"To be a role model to Ruby is really what keeps me going," Stewart declared. "I want to be an example to Ruby about what it means to approach life with the humility and grit necessary to lead teams, to help others, be great, and to win at things that matter the most."